Thread: Tips that have helped this newbie.

I have been using a safety razor for 3 months now, and although there is room for improvement, I usually have fantastic shaves and the credit belongs to this forum/mantic59/geofatboy and a host of other videos on you tube.

One advantage I think I have over the seasoned vets is perspective (ie it wasn't too long ago when I had unpleasant shaves).

There are a number of tips I have gotten from various members that have helped me tremendously in achieving fantastic shaves. By fantastic I mean: no razor burn (even shaving ATG), no nicks, no cuts, and BBS.

The tips I want to mention are the ones this newbie has found crucial to a fantastic shave and are 100% stuff I've read here, so I'm just repeating, but hoping some other newbie may benefit with real life newbie example. (applies to safety razor only)

Without further ado my top 3 tips...

Tip:
1) "if your atg is painful, you may not be reducing your beard enough. "

This is ridiculously important for me. I have Sensitive skin and for me to shave ATG painlessly, I need a WTG pass and Two XTG passes (both directions) before going ATG. Before I would only do 1 WTG/XTG pass and ATG would always be really painful/uncomfortable. Due to my sensitive skin I use Merkur progress on the most mild setting so 2 XTG passes is crucial for me to reduce further. This tip is also the reason I wanted to start this thread as I think it's a more subtle tip compared to the rest (I don't think it's mentioned quite as often) and is absolutely necessary for me to get BBS shave.

Tip:
2) "make sure your lather is Good (provides cushion)"

Also super important for me. I know this because shaving WTG and XTG was even uncomfortable from me when I started and remembering back @ what my "lather" was when I started can hardly be called lather. When I first started I focused a lot more on blade angle than making lather, so I know my lather was the problem (way too watery).

Tip:
3) "do not go over the same spot too many times/light pressure"

I was the guy that wanted to remove all the whiskers on my face with 1 pass, so I would go over the same spot over and over again (during the same pass, ie no more lather protecting my face). Compounding bad habits by using more pressure each successive stroke in the same area. I know you've heard it a million times before, but minimal pressure with minimal strokes in one area is huge for me.


I'd like to hear from others.

Very good points not only for using a straight razor but any type of razor. Also well said.